Is Wakanda Forever?
It was probably my first experience of reverse psychology. The junior amateur psychologist who was utilising the technique, was clearly adept. “If you really want to watch My Little Pony we can do” my 10 year old brother chimed. A pang of guilt hit my 6 year old heart– "I should let him watch what he wants, that's good sharing". And that was where it began, my introduction to animated and live-action comic book stories.
I am a huge Marvel Cinematic Universe fan! I watched Black Panther three times in the cinema and also dressed up for the occasions - obviously! I was awe-struck by seeing the afro-futuristic Wakanda on screen, effortlessly blending so many beautiful elements of continental African culture. Some of these were so familiar to me like the film’s use of richly-coloured Kente cloth and deeply meaningful Adinkra symbols - both from Ghana; others were new like the Namibian, red ochre encrusted Erembe headpiece worn by the mining tribe elder. Production designer Hannah Beachler and costume designer Ruth Carter certainly deserved their historic Oscars wins for their work; they created a place where the people of Wakanda seemed to be happy and thriving.
These comic book stories suck me in. I don’t just want to watch the films and TV shows but also watch easter egg videos on YouTube, read blogs about fan theories and, of course, wait with baited breath for the next Kevin Feigeannouncement. Perhaps it’s that the films reflect two deep truths about this world: that things always seem to be going wrong, and the need to fix it. We may not always be trying to stop a purple-hued alien tyrant from trying to kill half the universe with the snap of his fingers, but there is so much brokenness in this world. The answer to brokenness in this multi-verse is usually victory over said bad-guy and working towards a Wakandan-esque utopia, forever. But is that model reflected here in our reality?
We seem to be fighting against a lot of brokenness at the moment. Racism, misogyny, climate change and, of course, the newest Thanos-sized villain in town…COVID-19. Life feels choked and life is choking! With cries of ‘we can’t breathe’ we ask for knees to be removed from our necks. We long to breathe easy in the fields of life rather than being rocked by another climate disaster. We gasp for breath as our oxygenation levels drop from being infected with COVID-19.
But why do we even try and make things better? Why do we constantly feel that things just aren't meant to be this way? Surely this is part and parcel of how life is and instead of striving for better we should just make the most of the status quo?
As a Christian, this ‘why’ and these two truths are made sense to me through the Bible. It acknowledges that this world is broken and needs to be fixed; it shows me that we should be concerned about the now and invites me to do, and fight, for better; it also gives reasons for why it's broken and how it will be fixed.
Best part of it all is that it paints a real vision of the future where there will be no more pain or suffering, where every tear will be wiped away, a place where we can breathe freely, a utopia even better than Wakanda, that really is forever. To me, that's wonderful - how does that sound for you? #MoreThanWakandaForever
I have properly geeked out in this blog - which I am not ashamed of. So here is a bit of further info on elements you may be unfamiliar with:
Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) - A shared universe of superhero films and TV series created by Marvel studios. Includes Black Pather, Iron Man, Avengers movies and newer shows like WandaVision.
Kente cloth - A Ghanaian textile made of handwoven cloth strips of silk cotton.
Adinkra symbols - From Ghana that represent concepts of aphorisms. They are often incorportated into architectural features, gold, fabric, wood, and screen printing.
Erembe - Ornate headpiece most associated with the Himbapeople from Namibia. It has braided hair shaped using otjizepaste(shea Butter and ochre[natural clay] pigment).
Easter egg - Nope, not the delicious chocolate treat but a hidden message, image or feature of a film.
Kevin Feige - Genius creator and producer of the MCU and now Marvel Studios president.
Thanos - Purple-hued ultimate alien bad-guy from the MCU
Rachel Owusu-Ankomah
Rachel is a junior doctor in surgery and Head of Student Ministries at the Christian Medical Fellowship. She loves food (eating and cooking), hanging with family and friends, and films, as well as helping people to thrive, flourish and realise their potential in life.